hi, i have a 1990 non turbo volvo with a b230f motor and was wondering what is out there as far as performance upgrades go

There are little boxes you wire into your air mass meter to make it run richer for abt $30- ea. (Grossly overpriced!) they work, but the overly rich motor tends to stall a lot stopping at lights and when you select a gear from neutral/park. It can be hard to start too.

I found that wiring one in, and connecting it's output and the normal air temp output at the ends of a potentiometer,and the input of the EMU to the wiper of the pot. made a fairly easy selectable modest power increase. The pot needs to be LINEAR, not log. It's cheap and you dial up the power you want as needed. Anything more serious and you're talking re-chipping, or major motor mods. For them, I'd seriously consider a full rebuild, as an old motor with a significant power upgrade spells troubles. I have a series of the pots, 50K Ohms each, from which I can select any one and preset it to a useful range to reduce wear and provide continuous operation if one fails by selecting another.

Just drop a Ford V8 into it. ;-)

Here's a shot of a Volvo by Ian Giles of Calgary.

I'd start with tires, wheels and suspension. Bigger tires and wheels will make a big difference. Then go with stiffer anti-sway bars and sport shock. Then stiffer, lower springs.

For the engine start with freeing up breathing by using a K&N air filter and a free flowing exhaust. Make sure that you engine is still tight. Check compression and valve lash.

The B230 doesn't make a load of power and tweeking it may be helpful. To really increase power though you will need to add a supercharger or turbo (or V8).

For power,2½" mandrel bent exhaust, High lift cam. adjustable timing gear for starters.
You can pick up a small gain cheaply with an electric fan...(only a gain when the fan's not running :) .) A set of headers will give you a few horses.
My current project, install a ported and polished 405 head (higher flowing). My next biggest gain would probably come from some custom intake tract work.

Handling, I'd start first with a decent set of tires on wider rims and a chassis brace after making sure all your steering components are A1. Suspension mods next, but beware that you don't end up with a ride that's only comfortable on smooth roads.

Check out My 1991 240 na on this site, you'll be able to see what to expect to pay for these upgrades. K Cam and gear you can get for approx $150.00. You can get bigger hp gains cheaper if you just add a turbo, but some of us prefer to remain n/a.

Hey, IceBrick nice car!

I like the electric fan installation. The shroud fits just right. With the modified head, header and cam do you have any emissions problems?

Thanks for the thumbs up. The fan and shroud are from a 940. I removed the fan from the shroud and cut the long side on my bench saw, riveted the end piece back together to fit...looks OEM.

I live in Northern Ontario, personal vehicles don't need to be e-tested up here, but I'm sure it would pass..also I think it may be exempt anyway because of it's age?

thanx, yea i was planning on doing exhausts, a K&N filter and some suspension work and now after reading port and polishing the heads , but if i was to in stall a turbo around what should i be looking to pay abd how hard is it to install?

You can +t your car a lot cheaper than chasing na horsepower. A 2½" exhaust and a stock turbo and intercooler will probably give you more gains than I have made for fewer dollars. I choose to remain na because I'm old and stubborn. :P
(and I like the 'drivability' you get with na)
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